Woodlawn in Santa Monica is
an old-fashioned cemetery, with a sea of large, tall headstones - a somewhat
unusual sight here in Hollywood, where "lawn parks" are in the
majority.

There are a number of celebrities
buried here, including the actor who played Ingrid Bergman's husband
in "Casablanca," the woman who portrayed "Granny" on
"The Beverly Hillbillies," the man who played the boyfriend
of "That Girl," and the actor who played the town drunk,
"Otis," on "The Andy Griffith Show."
And now there's Glenn Ford - one of Hollywood's best actors.

Although it's a relatively
small park, celebrity graves can be difficult to find here if you don't
know where to look. Fortunately, I've been there, done the legwork for
you, and can tell you just where to go. (Click here
to see a map of the grounds.)

One of the biggest stars interred at Woodlawn is Glenn Ford(1916-2006).
You'll find him in the large mausoleum building
in the middle of the cemetery

According to Army Archerd, Mr. Ford decided to be buried in the Woodlawn
mausoleum back in 1984, twenty two years before his death (at age 90).
He even picked out his casket at the same time (along with his son, Peter
Ford, from Glenn's marriage with actress Eleanor
Powell.)

Glenn Ford may never have achieved superstar status, but his quiet, powerful
acting style made him a Hollywood favorite in over 100 films. Often, he
played the well-meaning everyman who was suddenly faced with challenging
circumstances. He was the committed teacher in a dangerous urban school
in 1955's "The Blackboard Jungle" (opposite
a young Sidney Poitier as one of the troubled students). He was Eddie's
father in the original "Courtship of Eddie's Father" (the
movie that inspired the TV series). He was Clark's father, Jonathan Kent,
in the 1978 hit "Superman" (with Christopher Reeves).
But before that, in his younger days, he starred as the romantic lead in
1946's "Gilda" (opposite Rita Hayworth), and as the
tough cop in the 1953 classic "The Big Heat", as well
as in a number of notable Westerns. (I also remember him in
a thought-producing made-for-TV thriller, "The Brotherhood of the
Bell".)

A local boy (his family moved
to California when he was 8), Glenn Ford went to Santa
Monica High as a youth, and worked in the stables up at the Will
Rogers ranch. Which explains the choice of Woodlawn - a Santa Monica
cemetery.

His crypt is located on the
lower level of the mausoleum. When you enter the front doors of the mausoleum,
walk straight back down the main hallway, and on your right you will see
an elevator, as well as stairs. Pick your choice and go downstairs.
When you come out of the elevator (or the stairs), there will be a side
corridor right in front of you, running north/south (not the main east/west
hallway). Glenn Ford is interred on the right (east) side of this
corridor, in the second column of crypts (in from the main hallway), and
three spaces up from the floor, at eye level.

His crypt was unmarked on my last
visit, but Ron sent me this photo in 2012.

Also, in the same mausoleum, is the crypt ofIrene
Ryan (1902-1973),
the actress who is best known as "Granny" on TV's "The
Beverly Hillbillies".

Go in the mausoleum's main entrance (on the west side)
and walk east down the main hallway until you come to a white statue of
a woman. To your left will be a stained glass window of a red-orange sunburst.
To your right will be a long corridor. Turn right, and walk south down
the corridor.

As you walk, you will encounter four east-west corridors.
Go all the way back (past a statue of a nude female angel) to the last
corridor. Turn left (east) and walk east down this fourth corridor towards
a stained glass window depicting a beautiful scene of mountains, a steam
& a valley. Just
as you pass through the last arched doorway, you'll find Irene Ryan's crypt
on the left (north) wall, just nine spaces east of that last doorway. Her
crypt is down on the bottom row.

Although Irene Ryan played
an elderly woman on "The Beverly Hillbillies,"
she was actually only 59 when she started the show. She died just
two years after the series finished filming. (See
a map.)

(Click on the small marker photos for enlarged
images.)

Return to the elevator, and go up to the second floor (the third, if you count the basement level).

Leaving
the elevator, turn left, and walk down the second aisle on the
right. There, at the end of the right wall, near a window, you'll
find the crypt of comic Harvey Korman(1927-2008).

It's in the bottom row, the second space out from the wall with the window.

Fans will know Harvey as a regular on the long-running "Carol Burnett Show",
where, with a droll sense of humor, he often played straight man to the
crazier antics of co-star Tim Conway and Carol herself on the
popular musical-variety show.

But he also appeared as an actor in several Mel Brooks films (including the classic "Blazing Saddles"), and he did voice work on a number of animated shows (including "The Flintstones", where he provided the haughty voice of "The Great Gazoo").

Another
TV celebrity buried in Woodlawn mausoleum is Hal
Smith(1916-1994),
who is best known as Mayberry's town drunk 'Otis Campbell' on TV's "The Andy Griffith
Show." He also appeared in "Green Acres" and
"Petticoat Junction" (a show Irene Ryan appeared
on as well from time to time.)

And
although most people probably don't know it, Harold "Hal" Smith
also supplied the voices for many well-known cartoon characters, including
'Owl' in "Winnie the Pooh," 'Goofy' in "Mickey's
Christmas Carol," 'Elmer Fudd' in a couple of 60's Warner Bros
cartoons, and even Belle's horse, 'Philippe' in Disney's classic "Beauty
& the Beast."

When you enter the mausoleum,
just walk straight back to the rear of the main hallway, and you'll find
his crypt on the left (north) side of the main hallway, just past the last
side corridor, at about eye level.

To find the next two graves, go
back outside and drive north on the road which goes past the front of the
mausoleum to where the road ends at an east-west road. Turn left (west),
and drive a short ways to where this road turns right (north.) Park and
get out of the car. Walk
straight west from the east-west road, along an open grassy mall with only
a few graves on it (it runs between two sections filled with many headstones.)
Go to the first big palm tree (slightly to the left). There, you'll find
the grave of television actor Doug McClure(1935-1995), five rows east of the palm tree, to the northeast.

(Click on the photo above.)

Doug
is probably best known as the young cowboy 'Trampas' in the popular 60's
TV western series, "The Virginian" (he co-starred
on the show with James Drury and Lee J. Cobb.)

He also starred in a variety
of movies & TV shows, ranging from the serious drama "Roots"
to the silly horror film "Humanoids From the Deep."
Younger viewers might best remember him as the bumbling 'Mayor Kyle Applegate'
in the TV teen sitcom "Out Of This World."
He died of lung cancer at age 59. (See
a map.)

Fortunately,
there is the grave of a major actor just a few yards away from Doug's grave.
Turn around and walk back about ten paces east, then five paces left (north),
and you will find the grave ofPaul Henreid(1908-1992),located near a smaller tree and a bench.

The
name may not immediately ring a bell to everyone, but those who have seen
the classic film "Casablanca" will know him as 'Victor Laszlo',
Ingrid Bergman's husband and Bogart's rival for her affections.

He was in other memorable films
as well, such as "Now, Voyager" and "Of Human Bondage."
Later in life, he directed such TV shows as "Maverick,"
"The Big Valley." and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents."
Although born in Austria-Hungary, he died right here in Santa Monica.
(See a map.)

To
find the next star's grave, get back in your car, and drive back past the
front of the mausoleum, then turn left (east) and drive to the east end
of the road. Park next to the wall of crypts (on your left) and get out
of the car. Look to your right, and you'll see numerous old headstones.
But notice that there is a low brick wall on this section's eastern edge,
and that there is a strip of grass running north-south next to wall. There
are only a few new graves on the grass here, but we're interested in one
of them. Walk away from the mausoleum (south) and follow that low brick
wall. Count the large trees by the wall as you go. When you come to the
fifth tree, look down and you'll see the slightly oversized, shiny marble
headstone belonging to actor Ted Bessell.

Ted did a number of TV roles in his life (including
that of 'Gomer Pyle's friend 'Frankie'), but he will always be best remembered
for playing the likable 'Don Hollinger', the boyfriend of Marlo Thomas'
character Anne Marie on the classic 60's TV sitcom "That Girl."
On his marker it says "Daily Communicant." You may wonder
what that means. A Roman Catholic, Ted considered being a priest when he
was young. He didn't, but he remained devout, and received holy communion
every day. (See
a map.)

Behind (east of) the Mausoleum, you'll find the grave of Barbara Billingsley(1915-2010), the actress who played 'June Cleaver', the mother of Theodore & Wally Cleaver in the popular sitcom "Leave It To Beaver".

The show ran from 1957 to 1963, and (to many) represented the idealized, white picket fence world of the '50's post-war era, when nuclear families were the norm, and
most women were stay-at-home moms, raising the new Baby Boom generation
in the suburbs. And 'June Cleaver' was the ideal mom, warding off
false compliments from 'Eddie Haskell' and always there when her kids
needed her.

Later in life she did have a notable appearance
in the 1980 farce "Airplane!", where she surprised people by playing a
jive-speaking passenger. But for the most part, she was always identified
with that "Beaver" role, revisiting it for sequels to the series, and even doing 'June Cleaver' cameos on other sitcoms.

Her grave is located in Section 12, on
a direct eastern line from the southeast corner of the mausoleum, about
2/3 of the way from the Mausoleum to the park's east edge (Pico
Blvd). That's
actually on the far south side of Section 12 (where it abuts section
7). Her flat lawn marker is located right next to a large, tall,
black & white family maker with the name "Mortensen". You can
see a series of photos here, which will help you find the plot.

Another
TV star buried at Woodlawn is Audra Lindley(1918-1997).
Although you may not recognize the name, you know her as 'Mrs. Roper' on
the hit 70's TV sitcom "Three's Company" and later
on its spin-off show "The Ropers."

She starred on the show
as 'Helen', the long-suffering, sexually-frustrated wife of landlord 'Stanley
Roper' (played by Norman Fell, who is buried at Mount Sinai). The
two died just one year apart.

She later played Phoebe's grandmother
on "Friends," and Cybill Shepherd's mother on "Cybill."
She was cremated, but her ashes are here at Woodlawn, buried in an unmarked
grave near her parents.

If
you drive just a short distance up the coast from Santa Monica, you will
come to Leo Carrillo State Beach, which was named in honor
of the actor buried here at Woodlawn.

Leo Carrillo(1881-1981) is
probably best known for his portrayal of 'Pancho', the mischievous sidekick
to "The Cisco Kid" in the popular TV series
which ran from 1950-1956. But Carrillo starred in almost 100 productions
over the years, ranging from "The Girl of the Golden West"
(with Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy) to "Phantom of
the Opera," usually playing Latin supporting roles.

What many people do not know is that Leo Carrillo
was born into a wealthy family, which at one time owned Coronado Island
in San Diego. A preservationist , he helped preserve Olvera Street in downtown
L.A., as well as the L.A. Arboretum in Arcadia and the Hearst castle. He
was the state's official "Ambassador of Good Will" and was referred
to by the governor as "Mr. California." At one time, he also
owned an Old-California style ranch
in Carlsbad, which is now a registered historical landmark and a public
park. His grave is located out by 14th Street in section 2.

Also on the lawn is the grave of astronaut Sally Ride(1951-2012), the first American woman in space.

Holding a PhD in physics, she was chosen as one of the crew aboard the Challenger space
shuttle that launched on June 18, 1983. As a mission specialist,
she performed science experiments in space and helped deploy satellites.

She served on a similar Challenger mission in 1984, and was scheduled for a third mission, but was fortunate not to have been aboard the Challenger on its tragic 1986 flight, when the shuttle exploded, killing everyone aboard.

After her time as an astronaut, Sally Ride
taught at the University of California, and inspired generations of
girls to pursue their interests in science and math.

Her grave is in Section 18, Lot 419, Grave E, near the corner fence, west of the mausoleum.

Finally, there's a local political
legend buried here as well. Jesse Unruh(1922-1987) was
one of the most powerful people in the modern history of California politics.

He was the man who coined the phrase "Money is the mother's milk of politics."

From 1954 until his death in 1987, he served in various posts, including
as a State Assemblyman, as Speaker of the Assembly, and as State Treasurer.
(He lost a 1970 election bid for Governor to Ronald Reagan.)
He authored the historic Unruh Civil Rights Act of 1959 as well as the
pro-consumer Unruh Credit Regulation Act.

When Robert F.
Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968, Jess Unruh
helped wrestle the gun from the hand of the assassin.

Getting there:Woodlawn is located in Santa Monica, just one mile
east of the Santa Monica Place
Mall, and just two blocks south of the Santa Monica Freeway. From
West L.A., take the Santa Monica (10) Freeway west to the Cloverfield
Blvd. exit. Turn left (south) onto Cloverfield, go two blocks south to
Pico Blvd. Turn right (west) on Pico, and go about six blocks west on Pico
to 14th Street. Turn right (north) on 14th Street and you'll see the entrance
to the park on your right (east) side.

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described in the article above, and does not constitute an
endorsement of this or any other business. The photos of celebrities on
this page also do not constitute
endorsements by them of any kind, and are used by the author solely to
illustrate this online article.(Click here to read
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